Americans stuck in Yemen sue US to force evacuations

Dozens of American citizens who are stuck in war-torn Yemen are suing the United States in a bid to get it to evacuate them, rights groups announced Thursday. The move comes after the United States this week acknowledged it has no immediate plans to rescue its nationals stranded in Yemen and urged them to flee the raging conflict by sea. Three organizations — the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus — said the lawsuit against Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter demands government action to evacuate the nationals. The plaintiffs are 41 American citizens or permanent residents trapped in Yemen who are challenging “the constitutionality of the United States government’s action and/or failure to act to protect United States citizens in Yemen, whose lives are in danger from ongoing military action and violent attacks,” the lawsuit states.